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We finally made it home!  We got stuck in a lot of traffic today!

Had a great time over the mountains and seeing Soundgarden at The Gorge in George, WA last night.  I'll post more about everything later.

Today, after we got ready to go, we Geocached my cousins house key.  Heehee  We were staying with them but they left yesterday to come to the west side of the mountains and we came home today so we had a day without them so they left us the extra key.  We hid it and I sent Eve a text with the coordinates and I said "It would be grate if you could find your house key."  Not sure if she's tried to find it yet, but I'm sure they'll have no trouble since they are geocaching experts!  Still fun to do.  After I've heard that she's found it, I'll post a picture of where we put it.

Here's some cell pics from our adventures last night and today.

When we left Eve and Mike's house, we headed towards Leavenworth and the pictures I'm posting are from our way there and the adventures we had.

We got fresh cherries and peaches!  Mmmm!!!

Fruit Orchard.

Got stuck in 4 miles of traffic!  Ugh!  Then again on the west side of the mountains!

Our favorite little Bavarian village.  We get here whenever we can!

People have to be reminded, really?!

We looked at getting some artwork.

Our favorite place to eat while in Leavenworth!

The Big Bob brat!  So yummy! Mine was bunless.

Kids bridge jumping.  I don't think there's been a time I've walked in this area that kids haven't been jumping! 

People floating on the Wenatchee River!

We tried our hand at geocaching and found our first two in Leavenworth, without help! Yay! Fun!

And before we left town, this is what we purchased.

This is going to be a busy, busy week but I'll try to post about the concert and other things when I get some free time.

Out Of Town

Currently Kyle and I are out of town visiting family on the eastern side of the mountains.  Not really thrilling and exciting {Moses Lake is anything BUT exciting!} but it's good to visit with fam we haven't seen in quite awhile!

This morning after we got up and ready and my cousin Eve made us a fabulous breakfast of gluten free waffles and fruit salad and coffee, we headed out to go and visit my grandpa at his office.  However, he wasn't there so we stopped in at a store to rent a movie for tonight {we got Authur, with Russell Brand} and then we went and got more coffee at Starbucks next door.

By then my grandpa got to work so we went and saw him.  My aunt was there too so we killed two birds with one stone! ;0)  Then we needed to go and see my grandma, so grandpa went, too.  We sat and visited with them for a few hours.

 

When we were done there, we came back to Eve and Mike's and I had a raging headache.  We ate some lunch and then I fell asleep for a couple of hours.  After I woke up, Eve talked to Mike, who is a pilot and he said we could come to the airport for a tour but he was getting ready to take a flight so we needed to be quick.  We headed over there, which is only about 3 miles from their place.  Mike showed us the jet he was getting ready to take over to the west side of the mountains and told us what some of the buildings were and then that was that.  He left and we left.

Mike doing his pre-flight check.  We supervised. ;0)

Now, we're hanging out in mostly silence all doing our own thing.  Eve's working, I'm blogging, Kyle was doing some work too but he just left to get some beer.  The important things in life. LOL

It's nice just being away from home and hanging with my favorite { ;0) } cousin and her hub, once he gets back from his flight, which sounds like will be soon'ish.  Dinner is almost ready and it's been a good day!

Christmas In July

The new Fall Catalog arrives JULY 25th,

So…..

Place an Order in the “Christmas in July Event” on July 25th through July 31st and Receive an EXTRA 15% OFF your TOTAL ORDER!

To Order:

Go to: www.mythirtyone.com/JenYoung/

Click on: “My Events” (Under my picture)

Find: “Megan Carlson’s Fundraiser”

Click: “Shop Now”

EVERYTHING in the New Catalog is 15% OFF

For more information on this fundraiser, please see the Original post: Someone Has Done Something Really Special For Us

If you would like to post about our Fundraiser and / or share it on Facebook / Twitter, I would love you long time! =)  


Thank you to those of you that have posted about it already!!

Long Lost Photos

If you remember, Kyle and I got our pictures taken by MckMama back in December.

There's a couple of reasons why I haven't shared them yet.

1.  I've been terrible about actually blogging about things that we've done, places we've been etc.

2. In this instance, I honestly wasn't very happy with the pictures.

Which made me really sad, but it is what it is.  I think that the weather on the day that we had our pictures taken was a serious piece of the puzzle, but there was nothing that could be done about that.  Then, I just wasn't happy with the way that they were edited.  Anyway, I contacted Jennifer and she was very kind in the way that we dealt with the whole thing and I'm happy with the compromise we came up with.

So, that's that.

I figured I'd show you some of the ones that I'm ok with.  Out of 160'ish, there's unfortunately not many.

Tell me what you think, honestly.

Megan's Prayer - A Poem

My friend, Linda from Truthful Tidbits wrote this poem for me!  She is amazing and took the words I wish I could write, right out of my mouth!  Thank you so much, Linda!  I'm documenting and saving this!! 

I love the picture she put with it, too!

{Photo Source}

Megan’s Prayer

There is a yearning in my heart Lord that just never goes away
I come before your throne of grace and bow my knees to pray

I know you see my longing Lord and you hear my constant cry
But Lord this empty feeling makes me feel so barren and so dry

I want to be a mother Lord and hold babies in my arms
To gaze into their faces and be won by all their charms

I need to feel their chubby cheeks as I brush them with my kisses
Oh Lord please hear my prayers to you and grant these heart felt wishes

I feel like Hannah of long ago who begged you for a son
She laid it all before you Lord, and you gave her more than one

She dedicated him to you…and I will do this too
For every blessing from above is sent to us from you

I know you have a plan for me…and may I be content
Not my will but thine oh Lord…I yield, humble and spent

Perhaps there is a child out there who needs me like no other
I am willing Lord to raise that child, and hear him call me mother

Whatever you decide dear Lord, I trust your perfect will
I just need grace from day to day to climb this rocky hill

For 8 long years we’ve waited Lord and looked to you for grace
We’ve prayed to see a miracle from the One who hung the stars in space

May I be a faithful witness Lord and share your love with others
Especially with those who just like me are longing to be mothers

No matter what, you are the King, deserving of our praise
So I will raise my arms to you throughout the coming days

You tell us to delight in you… and these things will come to be
Oh Lord I do delight in you…and may you be pleased with me

This is my Psalm, a song to you, my heart’s desire and my prayer
I know your peace will come to me, and I can find rest there!

Written for Megan by Linda Hogeland…July 2011

This Is Normal, Right?

I've never been a really nervous driver.

I'm pretty confident.  I'm aware of my surroundings and I'm cautious, but I'm confident.

Admittedly, I've also got a lead foot, but I also know when to tone it down and be more careful than aggressive.

In my opinion, I'm a damn good driver.

This accident has thrown me through a loop though!

I feel like I'm a Nervous Nelly now.

Today, for instance, is a nice day.

{If you haven't heard, the Seattle area has had a total of 78 MINUTES of Summer so far this year.  Yes, really.}

The sun is out, but it's not hot.  Right now at 5:50 pm, my computer says it's 70 degrees.

July 6th, the day of my accident, it was the hottest day of the year so far at 84 degrees.

As I'm driving home from work today, I, again, avoided the freeway going north.  I'm ok going south, but I just don't want to go north.  I have only one time since my accident, except when Kyle's been driving.

So as I'm driving home, on side streets / back roads, I'm kind of freaking out.  The sun being out and driving north, is reminding me of July 6th and it's around the same time that my accident occurred {which was around 3:30pm and today I'm driving home around 4pm}.  Inside I'm full of anxiety.  I'm nauseous and my stomach hurts.  Going around a bend, it looked like the car on the inside lane was coming into my lane so I swerved to the left slightly.  I have no idea if he was coming into my lane or not, though.

Every car that gets behind me, I'm afraid is going to rear-end me if they're following too closely or come up behind me too fast.

I'm ultra-aware and it's kind of making me crazy.

I spoke with the guy from the body shop yesterday.  This was our conversation:

Tom {Body Shop Guy}:  Were you in the car when the accident happened?

Me: Yeah, I was the driver.

Tom: Wow, yeah that was a HARD hit!

Me: {snorting / chuckling} Um yeah, I know!  I'm just glad I was wearing my seatbelt because I flung forward 2x's, when I hit and then when I got hit, bam-bam!  I'm really surprised my face didn't hit the steering wheel!

Tom: And the airbags didn't go off!  I'm really surprised by that because that was a HARD hit!

Me: I was really surprised they didn't go off too!  Is that because it didn't hit in the right place or something?

Tom: Most likely.  But if the hit had been any harder, they would've gone off, I'm sure! {Explains a little about the pressure points of airbags or something like that.}

Tom: So we have your car all un-assembled right now and we're looking at Tuesday or Wednesday before it's gonna be ready...blah blah blah.

We got off the phone after we finished talking about some more details about when we'd get it, etc.

We've had this car/truck/SUV/whatever you want to call it, I call it a car, since December 2006 and LOVE IT, but the more I think about driving it again, the more anxious I get.  Is that normal?  I'm, mostly, fine driving my MIL's car, but just the thought of getting in my vehicle and driving it again is making me nauseous.

At the same time, the more I hear about the damage that was done and how UN-damaged I am after walking away from the accident, I'm convinced that angels were surrounding my car and/or me!  The airbag not going off, I think was a blessing in disguise because I could've been severely injured from something that is theoretically supposed to save lives.  I have neck and back pain and I had a pretty nasty bruise from my seat belt, but I WALKED away from the accident.  Thank you, Jesus!!  I had angels watching over me that day!

I guess I just need to continue to pray that this anxiety and fear over driving in general, and driving my car again will go away!

But please tell me it's normal to be this anxious about all this!

Ok, I know this is long already but I wanted to tell you what happened on Sunday morning.

We sleep with our window cracked open most of the time so obviously we're going to hear more than if it was closed.  Over all, we live in a pretty quiet area.  We live off of a main road that people like to speed on though, so we hear a lot of peeling out and that kind of noise.  Then, behind our house, there's a pretty quiet neighborhood.  You can go in somewhat of a circle through / around it.

So, Sunday morning around 4 am, Chewy decides that he needs to go potty.  Kyle gets up to let him out and when he's out there, he hears a car or two RACING around the neighborhood behind us.  Going probably around 60 MPH!  Pretty sure it's 25 MPH over there!!  So he's standing at the door and I'm in bed sleeping but I sort of notice the racing but I'm not awake enough to really realize what it is.  Suddenly, one of the cars comes around the corner and SLAMS right into a chain link fence {knocking over a tree too}!  I heard it and popped up in bed.  I was trying to figure out where the accident had happened and what had been hit.  It sounded HORRIBLE!!  Kyle raced upstairs and looked out the window.  He saw two kids run out of there {we're pretty sure the car that they crashed was stolen, too, just out for a joy-ride}.  Then he went to the front window of the house to see if he could see them running up the street.  He didn't.  But he stood there for 10-15 minutes and then he saw the cops come.  He put on some clothes and walked over there and told the police what he saw.  They jumped in their cars and headed in the direction that Kyle had pointed them.  He came home and turned on the police scanner {he has an app on his phone} and they caught the kids about 20 minutes later!!  Woohoo!!

Meanwhile, I had listened for the police but didn't hear them coming and I fell back to sleep.  I had a dream about the accident.

For part of this dream, you have to know that we have some monster kids that live in our neighborhood / cul de sac.  Seriously, they're beyond obnoxious {and I love kids, but these kids just, UGH, hard to understand unless you live here and deal with them every day} and we've all told them repeatedly to stay off our property, not to play on our cars / under our porches / UNDER our cars/ in our gardens and they do. not. listen.  So now that you know that... 

In this dream there was this type of fence between the house to the right of us and our house {so random, so strange!}:

{Photo Source}

The accident in my dream happened right as you're coming down the hill to our street.

But for some reason, HUNDREDS of people were coming and putting condolences on the fence between our two houses and then traipsing through our yard to the street behind us, completely avoiding the accident site all together.  It made no sense to me so I went outside and was screaming at the top of my lungs "GET OUT OF MY YARD!!" over and over again {which I think comes from dealing with the monster children that live here, daily}.  I went over to the fence and I ripped it all down and brought it over to where the accident in my dream happened.  Then, when I was trying to cross the street, I almost got run over and my heart, while I was sleeping, started pounding out of my chest.  I also saw the tow truck hauling away the vehicle and it was almost unrecognizable {which I think I'm subconsciously scared could've happened to me in my accident}.

Dreams are so crazy!  I think I've been traumatized by life recently!

Infertility Fundraiser Reminder

This fundraiser has been such a blessing to us, I can't even adequetly put in to words how much it means to us!

The fact that so many of you are spreading the word for us too, is just so appreciative!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I just wanted to put the reminder out there, in case you didn't see the update I posted on the original post the other day, that Sunday is the last day to order from the Spring/Summer catalog.  Starting Monday, you'll be ordering from the Fall/Winter catalog.

Thank you to those of you that have already made a purchase on our behalf!  We're so blessed!

Thank you, too, for the continued prayers!!

{I thought today was the 24th!  I have to go and update my Facebook pages now because I was looking at the June calendar!  Oops!!}

Someone Has Done Something Really Special For Us

I've mentioned before that Kyle and I haven't been able to pursue any sort of treatments for our infertility in a really long time.  It costs money that we just don't have.

Before I was laid off in 2009, we weren't in the best financial position and then I lost my job because of the economy.  I was able to get unemployment, but after was all said and done, I was out of work for about 2 1/2 years and my unemployment benefits ran out in December of 2010.  Add in to that, Kyle's business was slow for a few months and things have been even more tight for us than ever before.

Needless to say, pursing any sort of treatment or adoption, while desired, hasn't been at the top of our list.

The other day, I received an email from a stranger.  I had never spoken to her before, never even heard her name.  But this person found my blog.  She read our story and she was saddened for us that we've been TTC for 8+ years and have yet to receive our miracle.

She told me that she, too, is infertile.  She is getting ready to do a round of IVF and she is able to do so because of the generosity and selflessness of a friend.  A friend that held a fundraiser for her and her husband.

She wants to do the same for Kyle and me.

I can't even tell you how this blows me away.  I've been speechless, just not knowing what to say, since I received her email.

Jennifer, I'm guessing, Googled 'infertility blogs' or something similar and came upon me.

She doesn't know me.  She doesn't have to do this for me.

Yet, she wants to.  Because she is a caring and selfless person that believes we should all be able to pursue our dreams of creating a family.

I am someone that would never in a million years ask for help in paying for infertility treatments or help with adoption.  That's just not who I am.

However, Jennifer has offered to hold this fundraiser for Kyle and me and I feel like the way it's being done is a way for people to participate if they feel led, without having pressure of feeling like they 'have' to do something or contribute.

I'm laying down my pride right here and I'm going to tell you how you can participate.  But PLEASE, ONLY do so IF YOU FEEL LED!!  I don't want this to be any sort of pressure on anyone!!

Jennifer is a consultant for Thirty-One Gifts.  Here is what she says about it:

Thirty-One is a faith based company based off Proverbs 31. They offer stylish and affordable totes, purses, and accessories to help make every day life easier.


And here is how you can participate:

* Go to: www.mythirtyone.com/JenYoung/

* Click on: "My Events" (Under my Picture)

* Look for: Megan Carlson's Fundraiser

* Select: "Shop Now"

The fundraiser will go until August 13th.

Also, every person that makes a purchase, will be entered into a drawing to win a free Demi Purse.

{Courtesy of  Thirty-One Gifts catalogue}

If you feel like this is something you'd like to do, AWESOME!  If it's something that you just aren't able to do right now, or just don't want to, THAT'S OK!!  No hard feelings!  But all prayers are always welcome! ;0)

Thank you, Jennifer!!

Thank you to anyone that makes a purchase on our behalf.

Thank you for all your prayers that have come our way over the years!

We WILL get our miracle, one way or another!

*****UPDATE*****

I just got notice that the Fall/Winter Catalog is coming out earlier than expected, July 25th. Because of this the current Spring/Summer catalog will only be available for orders until July 24th.

Due to the catalog switch, if you are interested in ordering from the current (Spring/Summer) catalog then those orders need to be in by July 24th.  You'll still be able to participate in the fundraiser by ordering from the Fall/Winter catalog from July 25th through August 13th.

Also, here are the July Customer Specials that runs until July 31st:

      *For every $10 a customer spends, They get 31% off specified products.
            
      *These products are:

- the Keep it Cool Backpack (Item# 3576), 
- Zip-Up Pencil Pouch (Item# 3593),
- Thermal Tote (Item# 3000),
- Upperclassman Backpack (Item# 3577), and
- Lunch To Go Thermal (Item# 3579).

     *The Upperclassman Backpack (Item# 3577) has a laptop case within it and The Keep It Cool Backpack (Item# 3576) has a front thermal pouch.

Thank you to those of you that have made purchases so far!! 

How I'm Doing

{Photo Source}

It's been just over a week since my accident and I'm feeling pretty good, surprisingly.

I'm beyond paranoid driving.

I've only driven by the accident site once and I saw, what I think is, my skid marks and they were pretty long.  I felt like I had my brakes on for a long time, too, even though I know it was just a few seconds.

Yesterday I was driving home and I have to go across this bridge called "the trestle" and I was going under the speed limit since there was heavy'ish traffic.  A car from the left lane pulled out in front of me, suddenly, and thankfully I was going slow enough that I didn't hit him.  But I sure was in a panic!  My seat-belt tightened, as did my entire body.  The jerk got right back in the left lane a few cars up.  As I drove by him I laid on the horn.  He has NO idea how close we were and how I could have easily hit him had I been going just a little faster.  The last thing I need is another accident within the same damn week!  I may have swore, too.  I'm honestly not someone that swears a lot, but UGH!  He freaked me the hell out!

I'm planning on seeing a chiropractor and a massage therapist soon.  As long as I can find people that will bill the claim number and not require me to pay out of pocket.  Hoping that exists around here.  My dad wants me to see his chiropractor and I think my step-mom said that I wouldn't have to pay out of pocket but I wasn't really paying attention when she was telling me.  My MIL said that her massage therapist is wonderful so I'm going to go there if they'll bill insurance.  We shall see.  I've been too busy to look into this stuff.

While I'm still feeling some pain here and there, I haven't taken my muscle relaxers in two days, although I was going to yesterday after that guy almost caused another accident.  But they put me right to sleep so I have to make sure I've got nothing else going on that I need to take care of before I take them.  Mostly I'm feeling good but the pain starts to make its way through in the evening.  I feel pain in my lower back and some pinching mid-back.  Today while I was at work, I was looking for a puzzle piece under an end table so I had my head down low and to the side and it really hurt.  Not sure what that was all about, but apparently my neck isn't as healed as I thought it was

Dealing with the insurance companies is a royal pain in the butt!  I'm playing phone tag with the insurance company for the guy I hit.  I've talked to the insurance company from the second car in the line-up that was hit.  I find it odd that the insurance company for the girl that hit me hasn't tried to contact me at all yet.  Same with the insurance company for the Comcast van, which I believe is the one that caused the whole shebang to happen.  But having to answer the same questions over and over and give my statement over and over is such a pain!  Plus the paperwork I have to fill out and send back to my insurance company...I just don't wanna, but I know I need to get that done and sent.  I know my mom would like to be reimbursed the $200 it cost to tow my car!

Yesterday, we got the preliminary estimate for my car repair, along with a check from the insurance company, in the mail.  It's estimated that my car is going to cost $7,300 to fix {and no, I don't know why they didn't total it}!  Thankfully our deductible is only $500.  But it's not going to be done getting repaired for another week to week and a half!  I guess they just got the approval from my insurance to start work on it.  AND we don't have car rental insurance.  Apparently, even though we have full coverage, rental insurance is separate.  SO, my MIL is an angel and is letting me drive her car for as long as I need it!

Anywho, overall, I'm feeling good, but I'm paranoid it's going to happen again and a bit scared to drive.  Yet, I have lots of driving to do every day so hoping this paranoia goes away soon!

Comments

{Photo Source}

My blog is so messed up and confused right now, therefore having me confused!

I use IntenseDebate for my commenting system yet, for some unknown reason, it keeps switching back to Blogger's commenting system.

I SEE all of the comments that come through, whether through IntenseDebate or Blogger, in my email but because of the switcheroo that's going on, it appears that those of you that are able to comment fairly soon after posts are published, then have your comments disappear. =(

I don't know why this is happening!!!  *cry*

If ANYONE knows how to fix what's going on, will you please let me know?

NADS Hair Removal

My cousin posted this video on my sister's FB wall yesterday and I just have to share it with you.

It reminded me of the time that I tried using this when I was in high school.  It was torture.  But if NADS put THAT on their container, no one would buy it and obviously they want the opposite.

Let's just say that I was trying to remove it nice and slowly {which was still very painful} and my sister decided to be OH SO KIND and come and RIP it off my leg.  Screaming ensued.

Now for your viewing pleasure:



Have any of you had any experiences with hair removal products that you'd like to share? 

I can always use a good laugh!!